'Five Years on Mars' re-airs
Now that the rovers have ACTUALLY lasted five years on Mars, the very pretty HD special is re-airing:
"Five Years on Mars," a high-definition visualization of the journeys of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, will re-air Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel.
Using photo-realistic animation based on the actual landscape as captured by the rovers’ cameras, the one-hour special dramatizes the trials and tribulations of the robotic explorers while highlighting new scientific information on the planet's geology and water history.
When the JPL-managed rovers touched down on Mars in 2004, they were expected to collect data over 90 Martian days, or "sols." But ninety days have stretched into almost five years, and a short-term science mission searching for evidence of ancient water has turned into one of the greatest adventures of the Space Age. The rovers have trekked miles across hostile plains, climbed mountains, ventured in and out of deep craters, gotten stuck in sand dunes, and survived dust storms and mechanical failures.
Writer/producer/director Mark Davis, who also served as writer/producer/director of the award winning "Mars Dead or Alive" and "Welcome to Mars," teamed with animator Dan Maas (Imax "Roving Mars") to make "Five Years on Mars."
For more information, visit http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/five-years-on-mars-3963.
"Five Years on Mars," a high-definition visualization of the journeys of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, will re-air Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel.
Using photo-realistic animation based on the actual landscape as captured by the rovers’ cameras, the one-hour special dramatizes the trials and tribulations of the robotic explorers while highlighting new scientific information on the planet's geology and water history.
When the JPL-managed rovers touched down on Mars in 2004, they were expected to collect data over 90 Martian days, or "sols." But ninety days have stretched into almost five years, and a short-term science mission searching for evidence of ancient water has turned into one of the greatest adventures of the Space Age. The rovers have trekked miles across hostile plains, climbed mountains, ventured in and out of deep craters, gotten stuck in sand dunes, and survived dust storms and mechanical failures.
Writer/producer/director Mark Davis, who also served as writer/producer/director of the award winning "Mars Dead or Alive" and "Welcome to Mars," teamed with animator Dan Maas (Imax "Roving Mars") to make "Five Years on Mars."
For more information, visit http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/five-years-on-mars-3963.